Tarsus IV
by Kage kioku aji tenshi
Summary: what Jim saw on Tarsus IV


My knowledge of Star Trek is limited to the part I saw in my Wood class and fan fiction soooo…. Yeah but I just got the novelization

This was suggested by tfbl, this is an expansion of "Mother's" number three so here you guys go.

Jim boarded the shuttle with the only luggage he was allowed to bring, a single backpack with a diary, a pair of clothes, and the only gift he had from his real father. Jim turned back to wave goodbye to his mother, but she was already gone. Jim sighed and looked at the floor for the entire trip to Tarsus IV.

They arrived several days later, the other kids were exited. They were there by choice, Jim was there because his mother didn't want him and Frank couldn't handle him.

Jim stepped off the shuttle, onto what he would later refer to as 'Hell in space'.

Jim walked to the cabin he was stuck in. He'd gotten stuck with babysitting the youngest kids there. The cabin was plain and dark; that's how Jim preferred things.

As Jim stepped out of the cabin and looked around, he saw lush grass and fields.

*Still on the farm* he thought

Weeks later Jim started to notice the camp's rations dwindling, so he started eating less and storing more. He'd become so use to hoarding food that he'd begun doing so at the beginning of the camp.

Jim noticed children leaving, and not coming back so he lead children into the now barren sands to a cave he'd found.

He put the oldest in charge before he went back to the camp where they were gathering the remainder of the children.

They walked to the middle square of the City. Jim noticed the phaser armed Tarsusians all around them.

A voice boomed "Your deaths have been ordered to ensure the survival of the better half of the population. Signed order by Governor Kodos." Then it was open fire.

Jim dropped like a log, there wasn't anything to be done for those that were here. Jim remained limp as a Tarsusian dragged him to a pile, and for a long moment Jim thought they would be burned. Instead he heard the sound of chewing.

Horrified and disgusted Jim slowly crawled out of the bodies and away from the city to his kids.

The storage of food lasted two months before it dwindled, but Jim had also added over a dozen children so he headed to town.

Jim ran into a rather young man with short red hair and oddly-colored eyes.

Ten years old, going on eleven, Jim tugged on the man's sleeve.

"Sir, I'll do anything for couple cans of food." Jim said in an almost desperate ton , because really he was.

The man raised an eyebrow; "Anything?" he asked before he took Jim to his house and proved Jim would do anything for the food.

Jim went back a few days when he was healed some, there were others. But Jim left with a rather large box of cans so he was happy.

Jim was at the cave, tucking in the kids. They numbered in the sixties now, and they were all rather healthy from what Jim could tell.

"Mama?" one of the youngest ones asked-they'd been referring to him as 'mom' for a while now.

"Yes, Yana?" Jim asked, looking over to the eldest of their group and the second oldest.

"Mama, tell us a story?" two year old Yana asked.

"Not tonight, sweet pea, Mama's got to talk with Father and Papa." Jim said referring to the elders.

The child nodded and went to sleep.

Jim pulled the blanket closer around her before he stood and walked to the two oldest members.

"S'lek, what's their progress?" Jim asked, referring to the schooling the Vulcan had been giving the children.

"Normal, for human progression." S'lek said

Jim nodded "Joey?"

"Nothing to report, Mama."

Jim shook his head "Tomorrow, I'm going to scrounge for food, 'kay, Father, Papa. I'll be gone a few days, so don't worry."

The two nodded, they made an okay family with S'lek as 'Father' Joey as 'Papa' and Jim as 'Mama'. Of course some of the older children called S'lek "Professor", and Joey by "Joey", and Jim by J.T., though very few still called him such.

Jim left that night and walked into town, this time there was only one man, to try to describe him would prove less then accurate.

"What are you doing, kid?" the man asked.

"Getting food for my family." Jim said.

The man nodded "Four boxes of cans for two weeks." He said looking at Jim.

Jim hesitated, he'd never been gone so long but the offer was so tempting. Jim bit his lip as he thought, they were needing more food, even with such small rations, seven kids to one can of food.

"Okay." Jim said slowly, and quietly.

For five years Jim degraded himself to feed the rescued.

"Mama, will you tell us about Starfleet?" Yana asked

"Okay, Yana, but you have to lay down."

The little girl nodded, still in a two year olds body and mind set, it was how her race was.

"Starfleet is a wonderful thing, their people go around rescuing people…" By the time Jim finished filling the children's heads with false hope, most of them were asleep.

"Mama?" Joey's voice called from next to his bond mate, S'lek, who had his first Pon Farr a year ago.

"Yeah, Joey?" Jim asked, walking to the mouth of the cave to feel the night air.

"Will they really come to save us?" Joey asked.

Jim looked back at Joey.

"You don't believe those tales do ya, Joey?" Jim shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning against the side of the cave, and looking at the stars.

"No one's comin' for us. None of us are gonna leave this hell alive." Jim said.

"So you're giving the kids false hope?" Joey asked.

"Joey, most of us are good as dead. The children are better off not knowin' that Kodos is gonna find us some day an' kill us all 'fore we even have a chance to scream."

"You're wrong, Mama. Starfleet will come." Joey said with a tone of finality.

Jim didn't look at Joey; he just stared up at the stars. Jim just couldn't help being realistic about rescue. Five years of nothing, and Jim had lost all hope of Starfleet really coming to save them.

Looking out into the darkness Jim thought he saw lights, coming closer, but brushed it off as his imagination.

Jim heard running feet and shouting.

\

"Joey, S'lek, Get up!" Jim shouted. "We gotta get the kids out and away from here!"

Jim had already woken several children and picked up Yana, Jim ran to the cave mouth as the other children were woken.

They ran away from the lights, with sixty odd children, Jim at the front leading them even farther away from the city of Kodos.

Jim looked back at the others briefly and when he looked forward again there was a bright light shining right in his eyes. Jim blinked rapidly.

"We got a bunch of kids here!" the light's owner shouted.

The man reached forward to touch Jim's shoulder.

Jim moved away.

"Don't touch us!" he shouted.

"Hey, kid, we're with Starfleet. We're here to rescue you."

Jim froze as other people wearing Starfleet uniforms gathered the children by age.

A young woman took Yana from him.

"See, Mama, I told you they'd come."

Jim couldn't bring himself to look at Joey.

"How old are you?" the man asked Jim

"I'm the only fifteen year old, sir, everyone else is younger or older then me. They'll be all right, wont they?"

"Yeah. We're beaming them up now."

"Me, S'lek, an' Joey'll go last." Jim said as the other two nodded, agreeing.

The man nodded.

"How did you kids survive?"

"It was J.T." S'lek said, "he got us away, he got us food, I taught the children and Joey kept us safe."

The man looked at Jim and put his hand on Jim's shoulder.

"You did good, kid."

Jim nodded, before stopping because it made him dizzy.

The four of them were beamed to Medbay and Jim rested on a biobed as Joey and S'lek were checked out.

Jim knew he was too skinny to be healthy so he was going to skip the lecture and not get checked out.

"And your name is?" a nurse asked Jim.

"Huh, name? it's Jakob Thomas." Jim lied but used his initials. "J.T. for short."

Jim wondered about his mother, would she let him hug her when he got home to Iowa, he really doubted it.

Two weeks later Jim was carrying the bag he'd had at the beginning of the trip as he walked off the Starship.

Jim hitched his way back to his home town and thought *At least I know what'll happen here* as he walked down his driveway to the house that he'd lived his first ten years in.

Jim crawled in through the window that lead to his room. Jim curled into his bed and cried himself to sleep, and dreamt that one day he would be over what had happened on Tarsus IV.

But for now he was Jakob Thomas, tomorrow he would be James Tiberius Kirk, but that was tomorrow.

Tomorrow Jakob Thomas, AKA 'Mama' would cease to exist. If James passed by one of J.T.'s kids he would not stop to talk, he would keep walking without a backward glance because Jakob Thomas did not exist, and Jakob Thomas would not have anything to do with James Kirk.


End file.
